Women's judo

Kevin Jairaj-US PRESSWIRE

Key dates: Aug. 2, women's 172-pound quarterfinals, semifinals and gold medal match Venue: ExCel Exhibition Centre Big story: Kayla Harrison (above) of Wakefield, Mass., sexually abused by a coach as a youngster, overcame that trauma to win a world championship at 172 pounds in 2010, becoming the fourth American of any gender to do so. Now she has a chance to make more history since a win in London would be the first by a U.S. athlete in Olympic judo. Top U.S. prospects: Aside from Harrison, the best U.S. hope for a medal is lightweight (126 pounds) Marti Malloy, a two-time Pan American Games and European Cup runner-up. Others to watch: Harrison's biggest rivals figure to be Brazil's Mayra Aguiar, whom Harrison beat in the 2010 worlds, and France's Audrey Tcheumeo, the 2011 world champion. Japan will also be dangerous since it has top-ranked qualifiers in five of the seven weight classes. Little-known fact: Rena (Rusty) Glickman, a Jewish woman from New York City, is largely credited with pioneering women's judo. A former competitor herself, she used the mortgage of her house to finance the first women's judo championships in 1980, then threatened to sue the IOC for sex discrimination if the sport wasn't added to the Olympic calendar -- which it was in 1998.

Key dates: Aug. 2, women's 172-pound quarterfinals, semifinals and gold medal match Venue: ExCel Exhibition Centre Big story: Kayla Harrison (above) of Wakefield, Mass., sexually abused by a coach as a youngster, overcame that trauma to win a world championship at 172 pounds in 2010, becoming the fourth American of any gender to do so. Now she has a chance to make more history since a win in London would be the first by a U.S. athlete in Olympic judo. Top U.S. prospects: Aside from Harrison, the best U.S. hope for a medal is lightweight (126 pounds) Marti Malloy, a two-time Pan American Games and European Cup runner-up. Others to watch: Harrison's biggest rivals figure to be Brazil's Mayra Aguiar, whom Harrison beat in the 2010 worlds, and France's Audrey Tcheumeo, the 2011 world champion. Japan will also be dangerous since it has top-ranked qualifiers in five of the seven weight classes. Little-known fact: Rena (Rusty) Glickman, a Jewish woman from New York City, is largely credited with pioneering women's judo. A former competitor herself, she used the mortgage of her house to finance the first women's judo championships in 1980, then threatened to sue the IOC for sex discrimination if the sport wasn't added to the Olympic calendar -- which it was in 1998. (Kevin Jairaj-US PRESSWIRE)

Key dates: Aug. 2, women's 172-pound quarterfinals, semifinals and gold medal match Venue: ExCel Exhibition Centre Big story: Kayla Harrison (above) of Wakefield, Mass., sexually abused by a coach as a youngster, overcame that trauma to win a world championship at 172 pounds in 2010, becoming the fourth American of any gender to do so. Now she has a chance to make more history since a win in London would be the first by a U.S. athlete in Olympic judo. Top U.S. prospects: Aside from Harrison, the best U.S. hope for a medal is lightweight (126 pounds) Marti Malloy, a two-time Pan American Games and European Cup runner-up. Others to watch: Harrison's biggest rivals figure to be Brazil's Mayra Aguiar, whom Harrison beat in the 2010 worlds, and France's Audrey Tcheumeo, the 2011 world champion. Japan will also be dangerous since it has top-ranked qualifiers in five of the seven weight classes. Little-known fact: Rena (Rusty) Glickman, a Jewish woman from New York City, is largely credited with pioneering women's judo. A former competitor herself, she used the mortgage of her house to finance the first women's judo championships in 1980, then threatened to sue the IOC for sex discrimination if the sport wasn't added to the Olympic calendar -- which it was in 1998.